May—June 2021 THE ABBHS NEWSLETTER ALABAMA BENCH AND BA R HISTORICAL SOCIETY From The President When, in 1993, my staff and I were called upon to prepare a plan for a judicial history program for the new Judicial Building, a whole new world was opened to me. A world that I previously did not know existed. In that world, Alabama was first, not last: in that world, Alabama's first constitution was a model for the Nation; in that world, Alabama adopted the first code of ethics for lawyers in the United States which, like the 1819 Constitution, became a model for the Nation; in that world, Alabama's Supreme Court was considered "long the ranking Supreme Court in the South”; and, in that world, Alabama's court system, under the leadership of Chief Justice Howell Heflin, became the most modern in America. These facts are seldom remembered in Alabama history textbooks, yet their impact on Alabama were tremen- dous. Twenty-eight years later, we are still exploring and discovering our legal history and trying to understand where we came from, how we got there, and where we are going next. As Robert Penn Warren said, "History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future." So, as a step toward this self- understanding, I invite you to join the Alabama Bench and Bar Historical Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of Inside This Issue: the state's judicial and legal system and to making the citizens of the state more knowledgeable about the state's courts and their place in Alabama and United States history. Executive Secretary’s Message p. 2 If you love history, if you love the law, if it is important to you Did You Know p. 3 that Alabama's legal history be preserved and celebrated, if you think children ought to learn about the law and how our legal institutions came A Step Back In History p. 4 to be, then by all means join with your brethren who are members of the John Malcolm Patterson p. 5 Alabama Bench and Bar Historical Society. Alabama's legal history is a rich and fertile field, that, when tilled, will yield a bounteous crop. It is Cumberland Chapter News p. 6 time to get out the plow. List of Past ABBHS Events p. 6 Tim Lewis, President Alabama Bench and Bar Historical Society Invisible Ink? P.7 Preserving the History of Alabama Page 2 May—June 2021 E x e c u t i v e A s s i s t a n t ’ s C o l u m n ABBHS is preparing for the start of our membership drive for 2021. Our first opportunity to join will be BOARD OF DIRECTORS at the Alabama Bar’s 2021 Annual Tim Lewis Meeting at The Grand in Fairhope, President AL., July 14—17, 2021. We look Janice J. Schultz forward to seeing you at our booth Executive Assistant in the vendor area. There are several ways to pay — credit card, _______________ cash, check, or on our website: Kay Dansby www.alabamabenchandbar.org Joe Guillot Come prepared to join this Hon. Beth Kellum wonderful historical society. We Sandra Lewis will be planning several events for our members in the future. To see Hunter Phares some of our past events turn to Samuel A. Rumore page 6, of this newsletter. We will also be offering a few great incentives for you to join, so be sure to come by our booth. May—June 2021 Page 3 DID YOU KNOW? Who Knew? Everyone who works in law is most likely familiar with Red Mass, the Catholic church service with which many courts and attorneys in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe begin a new term of court. In the United States, Red Mass is celebrated on the first Monday in October. But did you know that the legal profession is not alone in its celebration of a special mass? In the U.S., other professions have copied lawyers by celebrating a mass in the same manner as the Red Mass, except they are known by different colors. The Blue Mass Police officers and others engaged in law enforcement and public safety have the Blue Mass, the color relating to the blue-colored uniforms predominantly worn by police officers. Similar to the Red Mass, the service honors those who have died in the line of duty and those currently serving as first responders, and gives the community the opportunity to show gratitude to first responders and their families. The first Blue Mass was held on September 29,1934, and coincided with Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of police officers. In Washington, D.C., Blue Mass is held in conjunction with National Police Week in May. The 2015 Mass held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Washington was the 21st Blue Mass held in the city. The White Mass The White Mass, so named by the color worn by those in the healing professions, is held to recognize the dedication of healthcare professionals and to ask God’s blessing upon patient, doctor, nurse and caregiver. As with the Blue Mass, it began in the 1930’s, but is associated with St. Luke, the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, whose feast day is October 18. In Lewiston, Maine, White Mass is celebrated on February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes which coincides with the World Day of Prayer for the Sick, instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1992 as “a special time of prayer and sharing . and of reminding everyone to see in his sick brother or sister the face of Christ.” The Archdiocese of Atlanta, and Creighton University also celebrate a White Mass while St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Norwich, Connecticut held its 25th White Mass in 2015. The Rose Mass Since 1992, the John Carroll Society has sponsored a Rose Mass in the Archdiocese of Washington, to honor medical, dental, nurses, volunteers and the many health care institutions in the Archdiocese of Washington. It takes place annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent (“Laetare Sunday”), a Sunday when the vestments worn by the celebrant are rose-colored. The color rose was chosen as the rose has come to symbolize “life”. The Lansing Guild of the Catholic Medical Association in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also hosts a Rose Mass. Now you are in the know! Page 4 May—June 2021 A STEP BACK IN HISTORY… October 10, 1980: Governor Fob James appointed Oscar Adams to the Alabama Supreme Court. Adams was the first African American to serve on any appellate court in the State of Alabama. In 1982 and 1988, he was elected to full terms on the Supreme Court and became the first African American to be elected to a statewide constitutional office in the history of Alabama. Justice Adams was born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 7, 1925, to Ella Eaton Adams and Oscar W. Adams, Sr. A product of the Birmingham Public School System, Justice Adams earned his B.A. degree at Talladega College and his L.L.B. degree from Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C., in 1947. Also, in 1947, he was admitted to practice law by the State of Alabama at the age of twenty-two and was a sole practitioner until 1967, when he founded Alabama's first integrated law firm - Adams and Burg. In 1969, he founded Alabama's first black law firm - Adams & Baker, later, Adams, Baker and Clemon. September 8, 1892: George Washington Lovejoy, born a slave in Coosa County, opened his law office in Mobile, Alabama. One of eleven brothers and sisters, Lovejoy was put to work in the cotton fields at age seven. He began attending school at age ten. At age twenty-four he used his last $25 to enroll in the Swayne School in Montgomery where he was the only grown man among children. Encouraged by a Trustee of Tuskegee Institute, he enrolled there, graduating in 1888. He moved to Portsmouth, Virginia to read law returning to Alabama three years later where he found a local attorney to sponsor him for his examination. After passing the oral examination, he moved to Mobile and opened his law office. He practiced in Mobile for thirty years, dying in 1933, at the age of 74. October 24, 1811: George Washington Stone, fifteenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, was born in Bedford County, Virginia. Stone came to Alabama when he was twenty-two, after studying law in Tennessee. He practiced law in Talladega where he was a partner with future Chief Justice William P. Chilton and later served as a circuit judge. After the death of his first wife, Stone moved to Lowndes County where he remarried. The legislature elected Stone as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1856. Reelected to the Court in 1862, he served until 1865 and then established a law practice in Montgomery. Stone returned to the Supreme Court in March 1876, having been appointed by Governor George S. Houston to fill a vacancy. In 1880, he was elected by popular vote to a full six-year term. Then, in 1884, he was appointed to succeed Robert Coman Brickell as Chief Justice, and he was elected to a six-year term in 1886. He continued in that office until his death in 1894.